and, no, I'm not talking about the Teletubbies....
In an attempt to maximize our ever dwindling vacation days and to just get out of the house for awhile, we went to Los Angeles this week and had a wonderful few days hanging out in Santa Monica. We stayed in the perfect hotel (Doubletree Guest Suites) right near the Santa Monica pier. The suite was splendid, not so much for the decor or the art on the walls, but because we had a separate bedroom!!!!! Owen was a big boy and slept on the sofa bed all night long both nights, and we made Elliot a little bed on the floor where he slept reasonably well.... the best thing? Closing the door and having our own room to relax in.... reading, knitting, watching bad TV (is there any other kind?)... It was great.
I started to realize that vacationing with kids is actually better in many ways than the adult only way of doing things. With kids (especially babies) you are forced to sit in coffee shops for extended periods of time while they nap snuggled up next to you.... and with older kids, it's imperative that you find playgrounds and opportunities to run around and kick up your heels. Santa Monica's promenade and pier offered lots of chances to indulge both our kids' needs, as well as our own. We ate some truly wonderful food and drank some damn fine coffee and watched the crazy LA denizens to our heart's content. (Is it just me or does everyone in LA seem to spend an inordinate amount of money on skin care and clothes?)
Anyway, the other great thing about vacationing with kids? Using them as an excuse to be back in the hotel room by 8pm so EVERYBODY has a relaxing bedtime. A really nice vacation, to be sure. Only two nights, but well spent. And on our way home we stopped in Newport Beach, rode the auto ferry to Balboa Island and (among other things) thrilled Owen with his very first ferris wheel ride which he loved so much he wanted to go again and again...
This has been such a lovely summer, full of excitement and exploration and lots of ice cream and sunny days...
Click here to see the whole set of pictures....
2 comments:
Sounds like you guys have had a great summer!! Now you can settle in and enjoy home life again!! Who knows you may have a bunch of bees come to visit again or maybe you will have the thrill of a bear coming to swin in you pool!!! That actually happened to friends of ours that live near LA. Their daughter heard something in their back yard and when she looked their was a large bear swimming in their below ground pool! They tried to shew it away and it had no problem at all going over their very high fence (wall?)!!! Can you believe it!!!!
Have a great rest of the summer!!
Aunt Carol
Aren't vacations great?! You packed in a fantastic amount of activity considering that two of the party were under the age of five! Thanks for sharing all the pictures. GG
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